Up in Deusa, Solukhumbu this week, farmers from surrounding villages have come together for a three-day training workshop led by specialists from Everything Organic Nepal (EVON).
Deusa Agro-Forestry Resouce Centre (AFRC) is quickly becoming a hub for farmers and community organisers from right across southern Solukhumbu and even into neighbouring Khotang. One of the key elements to the success of the AFRC is its well stocked plant nursery. The agricultural specialists at the AFRC nurture plants from seed and then sell them onto local farmers who transplant them to boost their range of crops.
Deusa, however, is a rural location with few roads and very steep slopes. A round trip to the AFRC to buy seedlings or saplings can therefore take a whole day of tough trekking - time that busy farmers can’t really afford. To meet the growing demand for the services of the AFRC, an idea was hatched to establish ‘satellite’ nurseries in strategic locations across Deusa and neighbouring municipalities.
TGT funded this work in 2017 and the nurseries are now in operation. The training, led by two experts from EVON, was for the farmers who run the satellite nurseries. It is all part of the lifelong learning and knowledge sharing process that is key to all our work. As the name suggests, farmers learn how to farm organically, with an emphasis on water conservation and climate change adaptation.